Kinmen or Quemoy (/kɪˈmɔɪ/; see also "Names" section below) is a small archipelago of several islands of Taiwan including Great Kinmen, Lesser Kinmen, and some islets. Administratively, it is Kinmen County (Chinese: 金門縣; pinyin: Jīnmén Xiàn) of the streamlined Fujian Province, Taiwan. The county is also claimed by the People's Republic of China (PRC) as part of its own Fujian Province's Quanzhou Prefecture. It is geographically very near Xiamen, no more than 2 kilometres (1.2 mi). Some islands of other counties, such as Wuqiu, were transferred to the jurisdiction of Kinmen County by the ROC government following its defeat in the Chinese Civil War and retreat to Taiwan. Matsu is the other set of islands on the Fujian coast controlled by the Republic of China.

Kinmen was first named Jīnmén (金門; lit, "golden gate") in Chinese 1387 when the Hongwu Emperor of China's Ming Dynasty appointed a military officer to administer the island and protect it from wokou (pirate) attacks.[1] The name is pronounced Jīnmén in the official Mandarin Chinese and Kim-mûi in the native Zhangzhou dialect of Hokkien Minnan. The various names used in English for the islands derive from the Chinese counterparts.

Quemoy is the name for the island in English and in many European languages and the island's name in Chinese Postal Map Romanization spelling.[2] It likely began as a Portuguese transcription of the Minnan (Hokkien) Zhangzhou dialect pronunciation of the name, Kim-mûi which also means Golden Gate.[3] This form of the islands' name was used almost exclusively in English until the late 20th century and is still used widely in current English-language contexts that involve historical coverage. For example, current works that deal with the First and Second Taiwan Strait Crises (the Quemoy Incident[4]) when the islands received prominent worldwide news coverage as "Quemoy" still use this form. In addition, the former National Kinmen Institute of Technology was renamed National Quemoy University in 2010. Kinmen scholar Wei Jian-feng advocates the use of "Quemoy" to better connect the island to "international society or achieve more recognition in the world".[3]

Chin-men is the Wade–Giles romanization form of the island's name and appears on some maps using that as their standard.[8]

Jinmen is the Hanyu Pinyin form of the island's name used especially in sources from the People's Republic of China.[9] The Kinmen County Government and ROC central government have adopted Hanyu Pinyin as their standard romanization, such as for names of townships within Kinmen County, but this does not apply to the name of Kinmen itself.[10]

Kinmen was originally a military reserve. The island was returned to the civilian government in the mid-1990s, after which travel to and from it was allowed. Direct travel between mainland China and Kinmen re-opened in January 2001 under the mini Three Links, and there has been extensive tourism development on the island in anticipation of mainland tourists.[12] Direct travel was suspended in 2003 as a result of the SARS outbreak, but has since resumed.

Many Taiwanese businesspeople use the link through Kinmen to enter the Chinese mainland, seeing it as cheaper and easier than entering through Hong Kong. However, this changed following the 2005 Pan-Blue visits to mainland China and the 2008 presidential and legislative victories of the KMT, that allowed easier Cross-Strait relations. Kinmen has experienced a considerable economic boom as businesspeople relocate to the island for easier access to the vast markets of the PRC.

The people of Kinmen see themselves as Jīnmén rén (Kinmenese), Mínnán rén (Southern Min, or Southern Fukienese), or Chinese, but not so much as Taiwanese.[4][15] The strong Chinese identity was forged during the period of the ROC's military confrontation with the People's Republic of China (1949–1992) when Kinmen was under military administration.[4] In the 1980s, as the militarization decreased and martial law was ended on Taiwan, the Taiwan independence movement and efforts in de-Sinicization grew in strength on Taiwan.[4] To Kinmenese, however, these developments were viewed with concern and there was a feeling that "Taiwan didn't identify with Kinmen".[4] Many worried that Taiwanese de jure independence from China would lead to the severing of ties with Kinmen.[4] These concerns play a strong role in Kinmenese politics as well.[4]

Many of the county's inhabitants speak Hokkien. Since Kinmen is historically part of Fujian, most residents will say they speak "Kinmenese", as opposed to "Taiwanese" as it is commonly called in Taiwan, though the two dialects are mutually intelligible. The residents of Wuchiu Township speak Pu-Xian Min, as opposed to Hokkien for the rest of Kinmen.

Kinmen is notable for a number of cultural products. Due to the extensive shelling by the People's Liberation Army, Kinmen is famous for its artillery shell knives. Local artisans would collect the vast amounts of exploded ordnance and make high-quality knives which are still sought after by chefs and connoisseurs. Kinmen is also home of the regionally famous Kinmen Kaoliang liquor, a spirit ranging between 38 and 63 percent alcohol, which is highly appreciated by the Taiwanese. Other local culinary specialties include Kinmen noodles (金門麵線), gongtang (貢糖) and beef jerky (牛肉乾).

Kinmen's economy is mainly based on tourism and services due to its proximity to mainland China.[17][18] A 5.4 km (3.4 mi) bridge connecting Kinmen Island (Greater Kinmen) and Lieyu is planned to be completed by June 2016, estimated to cost NT$7.5 billion (US$250 million).[19] It is expected to increase local tourism; the bridge's 1.4 km (0.87 mi) main body will have the largest span in the world when completed.[20]

Because of its military importance, development on the island was extremely limited. Only by 2003, Kinmen opened up itself to tourists from Fujian in Mainland China.[21] It is now however a popular weekend tourist destination for Taiwanese and is known for its quiet villages, old-style architecture and beaches. Large parts of Kinmen form the Kinmen National Park which highlights military fortifications and structures, historical dwellings and natural scenery.

The year 2014 recorded the highest number of passengers traveling by ferry between Kinmen and Fujian ports for as many as 1.5 million people.[22] Starting 1 January 2015, Chinese mainland tourists will no longer be required to apply for Exit and Entry Permit in advance for visits to Kinmen, Penghu and Matsu Islands. Instead, they can apply for it upon arrival at a cost of NT$600.[23]

By 2016, two infrastructure projects are expected to boost tourism and meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions visitors to the islands. One includes a yet-to-be-named five-star resort spearheaded by Xiamen property developer, Wu Youhua, president of Xiamen Huatian Group, the first time a Chinese interest has been allowed to invest in the Taiwan hotel sector.[24]

Kinmen is famous for the production of Kaoliang liquor, which takes up about 75% of Taiwan's market share, in which it is a strong economic backbone of the county. Traditional industries are also being kept and improved, ranging from agriculture, fishery and livestock. It has a good fishery industry also due to its nature being surrounded by unpolluted sea.

Kinmen often import more goods from Mainland China than Taiwan Island because of lower costs due to the proximity of the county to the mainland despite lower quality. During the campaign for the 2014 county magistrate, all of the magistrate candidates spent their money on campaign materials produced in mainland provinces, such as Guangdong, Zhejiang and Fujian instead of from Taiwan Island.[27]

The island consistently votes for the Kuomintang (KMT). Until the early 1990s, proponents of Taiwan independence argued that they would consider handing Kinmen over to the PRC in any negotiated settlement. Residents of the island have broadly opposed such measures, fearing the consequences of the PRC government's policies on their standard of living and political freedom.

The Kinmen County Government have invested millions in education in Kinmen, with an average of NT$20,000 per student. Schools in the county also accept the growing number of Taiwanese students whose parents are doing business in Fujian.[32] The county government has been striving to encourage universities in Taiwan Island and Mainland China to set up branches in the county, as well as to attract Chinese mainland students to study in Kinmen.[33]

The Kinmen Power Company was founded in 1967 and gradually built five power plants in the county and in charge of providing power resources to all residents in Kinmen. It used to rely on light diesel oil which created high cost burden to its management. Since 1992, the ROC central government approved the power company to authorize Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) for five-year management. All of the power development projects were invested by Taipower and helped the region economic development. In July 1997, Kinmen Power Company was officially incorporated to Taipower. In 1999, the diesel-fired Tashan Power Plant was built to supply electricity to Kinmen grid. The other smaller power plants were subsequently discontinued to reduce cost.[34]

In August 2012, Kinmen and Xiamen established the first submarine telecommunication cable between the two sides. On Taiwan side, the infrastructure was constructed by Chunghwa Telecom, while on Mainland China's side was done by China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile. The project was initially launched in 1996 and took 16 years to build.[35]

The telecommunication system consists of two cables, one is a 11 km long cable that runs from Kinmen's Lake Tzu and Xiamen's Mount Guanyin, and the other is a 9.7 km long cable that runs from Kinmen's Guningtou and Xiamen's Dadeng Island. The system is a non-repeater system with a bilateral transmission capacity of 90 Gbit/s, in which it might be expanded in the future if demand arises.[35]

The current daily water demand for Kinmen is 50,000 tonnes, which are used for households, industries and agriculture sectors. One tonne of water produced for Kinmen costs about NT$50–60 and may surge to NT$70 during summer. In extreme drought condition, water shipment from Taiwan Island may cost as much as NT$200 per tonne. Because Kinmen residents pay only NT$10 for each tonne water they use, the cost of water supply has become a heavy burden for the county government.[36]

For decades, Kinmen has been facing difficulties in water supply to its residence due to its shallow lakes, lack of rainfall and geographical constraints which makes building reservoirs and dams unfeasible. Therefore, Kinmen often overuse its groundwater, causing rising tidal flood and soil salinity.

In early September 2013, the Chinese Mainland government agreed to supply Kinmen with water from Jinjiang City in Fujian due to the ongoing water shortage problem in Kinmen. Kinmen draws more than 8,000 tonnes of groundwater everyday and water from its reservoir is barely enough to support the residence during dry season. The shortage problem will heavily hit the local economy by 2016 if no mitigation plan is enacted.

An undersea 16.7 km water pipeline will be built to carry water from the Shanmei Reservoir in Jinjiang city to coastal area of Kinmen. The pipeline is expected to deliver a maximum amount of 30,000 tonnes of water each day to Kinmen. A further 300 meter of water pipe will be constructed to a water treatment plant.[37]

Calligraphy by former President Chiang Kai-shek etched on a rock in Kinmen reads, "Forget not what happened in Jǔ" – an allusion to the Warring States period when the State of Qi, cornered into the City of Ju by the State of Yan, successfully counterattacked and retook its territory. This is intended as an analogy to the situation between the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China. Other slogans alluding to "retaking the mainland" can still be found in Kinmen.